Western Washington University's Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) Program offers a minor and two innovative certificate programs and a variety of classes open to all students with no pre-requisites.
We foster a welcoming environment by the use of various innovative programs and tools, inspiring our community members the bravery to lead, courage to conflict, and curiosity to explore themselves as holistic entrepreneurs who are the intentional, flourishing designers of their lives.
Stay connected
Hear about all the events, courses, and connections taking place in the E&I community.
Entrepreneurship Programs
Entrepreneurship and Innovation (E&I) Certificate
Through hands-on projects, community engagement, journaling and blogging, and building and developing an entrepreneurial network beyond the classroom, students gain critical skills essential for successful entrepreneurs. In addition, we include a deep dive in building passion and perseverance to bring ideas to impact throughout their life and into the future.
FOREST Certificate
The purpose of the FOREST (Foundations of Outdoor Recreation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Tourism) is to provide students with the ability to apply Entrepreneurial and Innovative mindset, knowledge and skills to Outdoor Recreation and Sustainable Tourism and related areas.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor
WWU’s highly experiential and interdisciplinary E&I Minor spurs remarkable transformation, agency and growth for students personally and professionally. We welcome students from across WWU: all majors, identities, backgrounds and cultures. You can start anytime, no prerequisites! Our community fosters growth, excitement, and practical skills as we address the world’s opportunities and most pressing societal challenges.
Contact Us
Please email us if you have questions or would like to learn more about the Entrepreneurship programs at Western.
Student Testimonials
Forming long lasting connections
"Forming long lasting connections and gaining experience and knowledge that sets me ahead of the game. There are so many nuggets of knowledge to pull from this class and because of the time I spent here soaking those in, I feel more prepared for the real world."
Community Engagement & Networks
"The networks I created without a doubt helped me learn in every way from working in teams to asking for individual project help, they’re always there to help. The community engagement has helped me stay motivated through these hard times and allowed me to work harder, learning more. Lastly, The self-driven entrepreneur aspects we’ve learned about have helped guide me to learn how to think from different perspectives while searching for solutions."
Workshops, Speakers and Doing Work
"Workshops, having guest speakers, learning from peers, actively creating projects and not just being lectured!"
Intentional Connections
"Developing intentional connections with classmates. By taking time to dive deep into the lives of others I was able to see more beauty and passion within the program. We are able to see each other's strengths and encourage each other. Also, being an entrepreneur can be very hard sometimes so to have people that understand and care about you is AMAZING!
Guest speakers who were willing to share their true stories and perspectives. It is so encouraging to hear stories where people went through hardships and then BOOM, they worked hard, they worked smart and they are out in the world doing their thing, living their dreams! It was incredibly inspiring and made me feel less alone as a business owner."
Structure of Venture Projects
"The structure of venture projects has really helped me improve my teamwork and communication skills. The guest speakers have really challenged my perceptions and perspectives on how entrepreneurship operates and how to be a better entrepreneur. And contrary to popular opinion, the wide variety of tools that we use in class (Canvas, Google Suite, Teams, Zoom, etc.) has really shown me the level of competency required in order to effectively operate in an increasingly tech-based world!"
Interactive Live Courses
We offer in-person interactive classes that will keep you engaged and motivated.
Building Community
Our program offers courses open to undergraduate students and community members.
Human Centered Entrepreneurship
We take a human approach to entrepreneurship through empathy development and self-development.